


The Gift of Giving

by sylph_of_eons



Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness & Explorers of Sky, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Gen, before psmd, takes place during pmd2 post-game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:42:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26531560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sylph_of_eons/pseuds/sylph_of_eons
Summary: Mawile looked over her shoulder to see Machoke watching Ampharos with an amused expression.“That guy is a bit of a klutz.” Machoke remarked, laughing a bit. “Wonder how he came to be a medic on the trail.”“I’ve heard talking among other pokemon working on Project P.” Breloom began, joining the rest of his teammates in watching Ampharos stumble around the village. “Apparently there’s an Ampharos explorer who’s made a bit of a name for himself. He’s a self proclaimed “wanderer” and has only recently come to the Grass Continent. I wonder if this Ampharos is the one everyone’s been talking about.”“Huh.” Mawile murmured once again, turning to watch Ampharos, who was currently greeting some of the other Shaymin with a jovial attitude. “He’s still a bit...unassuming.”
Relationships: Mawile and Ampharos
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	The Gift of Giving

“It’s a shame that we weren’t able to find the Sky Melodica though.” Breloom mumbled as Team Frontier unpacked their treasure bags at Shaymin Village.

“That’s just just the reality of exploration: not every adventure is going to end in success.” Machoke replied as he absentmindedly adjusted the bandage on his arm. 

“But this expedition was a success.” Mawile interjected, smiling. “We made it to the summit of Sky Peak and learned about the secrets of Shaymin Village. The Exploration Team Federation will reward us just for this knowledge alone.”

Machoke chuckled in response to this and Breloom nodded in agreement as a Drifblim Gondola arrived at the village.

“Oh!” The Shaymin guide that helped Team Frontier and the other team up the mountain gasped. “I think that’s Sneasel!”

Mawile turned her head around, her eyes narrowed.  _ Right, Sneasel. We left him with that medic at the 7th Clearing.  _ The edge of Mawile’s face mouth twitched.  _ That guy didn’t have a good attitude but I hope he turned out OK...even if I don’t think he entirely deserves it. _

Mawile’s inner dialogue was derailed by the sound of boisterous shouting.

“Hoo-hah!” A tall yellow pokemon raised a flipper towards the sky as he exited the gondola. “Don’t worry! Sneasel is alive and well!”

“Of course I am.” The Sharp Claw Pokemon in question snarled as he followed the medic off the gondola, scratching his nose. “I was never in any danger of dying.” He griped, gingerly gripping his mending shoulder.

“Ugh.” Mawile crossed her arms as she watched Sneasel walk away. “Even after all of that, he’s still not acting very grateful.” She grumbled icily. 

“Give him time.” A small whisper said behind her.

Mawile snapped her head around to see Shaymin just watching Sneasel with a placid expression on their face.

“Sneasel’s pride was hurt. Of course he’s going to be a bit irritable.” Shaymin explained, their expression placid. “But he’ll eventually turn around. He won’t forget the kindness he was shown. Speaking of-” Shaymin walked over to the tall yellow pokemon giving him a simply adorable smile. “Thanks again for the help, Ampharos.”

“No problem, Shaymin.” Ampharos answered enthusiastically. “I think I’m going to stick around in the village for a bit before heading back to the rest stop.”

“Of course, Ampharos!” Shaymin chirped. “Again, I’m sorry that things ended up becoming so hectic. I’m really grateful for all of the hard work you’ve done-”

Shaymin continued talking, completely unaware of Ampharos’s wandering as Mawile watched in concern as the Light Pokemon spun on his feet and walked straight into one of the village huts, creating a loud  _ THUNK _ sound as his head knocked against the low roof.

“Oh no!” Shaymin quickly hopped over to a staggering Ampharos. “Are you OK?”

“Yeah, I’m-” Ampharos winced in pain before chuckling a bit. “Has...has this hut always been here?”

A low grunt came from behind Mawile. “Wow.”

Mawile looked over her shoulder to see Machoke watching Ampharos with an amused expression.

“That guy is a bit of a klutz.” Machoke remarked, laughing a bit. “Wonder how he came to be a medic on the trail.”

“I’ve heard talking among other pokemon working on Project P.” Breloom began, joining the rest of his teammates in watching Ampharos stumble around the village. “Apparently there’s an Ampharos explorer who’s made a bit of a name for himself. He’s a self proclaimed “wanderer” and has only recently come to the Grass Continent. I wonder if this Ampharos is the one everyone’s been talking about.”

“Huh.” Mawile murmured once again, turning to watch Ampharos, who was currently greeting some of the other Shaymin with a jovial attitude. “He’s still a bit...unassuming.”

Machoke scoffed. “Well so was Wigglytuff. Remember when that guy was just the weird newbie on Team Charm? Now he runs the most important exploration union on the continent.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Mawile said as she shyly scratched the back of her neck. 

“Why don’t we go ask him about it?” Breloom suggested. “Even if he isn’t the Ampharos everybody’s talking about, he still might have some stories about the mountain trail. He might even have some leads on the Seven Treasures.”

This brought a smile back to Mawile’s face. “That’s a good idea, Breloom.”  _ If we can still find out something about the Treasures, that’d make this expedition a total success.  _

Machoke heaved himself onto his feet. “Well, let’s go talk to him. Hey! Ampharos!” Machoke shouted, waving as the trio walked over Ampharos.

“Oh!” Ampharos’s ears perked up and turned to them with a dopey grin. “Team Frontier, was it?”

“Yep.” Machoke nodded smugly. “I’m Machoke, the leader. And this here is Breloom and Mawile; my partners.” He pointed back to them accordingly.

“We’re currently working for Project P.” Mawile began to explain, stepping forward. “We’re working on creating a full map of the Grass Continent, but since the discovery of the Hidden Land and the Time Gear incident, things have been-” Mawile giggled weakly before gritting her teeth. “Complicated.”

“No kidding.” Ampharos replied in agreement. “Crazy time to be getting into the whole exploring business. Not to mention the Air Continent had some sort of disaster a couple of years ago too. I’m honestly placing my bets on there being a second Ice Age next.”

Mawile couldn’t help but laugh in response to his admittedly morbid joke. “Just as long as it stays out of my work! Besides, I'd say that it would be pretty hard to top the collapsing of time as far as I’m concerned!”

“Speaking of exploring-” Breloom interrupted, staring at Ampharos curiously. “Are you an explorer, too? I’ve been hearing talk of an Ampharos explorer and I’m wondering if you might have heard about that?”

“Explorer?” Ampharos tilted his head innocently. “I’m not sure that I'm what you would call an explorer. I’m really more of a nomad. I don’t necessarily go out of my way to go on adventures, I just go where the wind takes me.”

For some reason, this casual and unusual response deeply intrigued Mawile. She decided to ask further. “A nomad? What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m originally from the Water Continent.” Ampharos began, looking up to the sky in reminiscence. “I left home when I was fairly young, and I’ve been traveling ever since. I’ve been to the Air Continent and the Sand Continent, and now here-”

Machoke and Breloom’s eyes widened in disbelief as he said this. 

“You’ve been to the Sand Continent?” Machoke asked, clearly amazed. “I’ve heard that the mystery dungeons there are crazy dangerous! Not to mention how hard it is to get there in the first place!”

“It’s hard enough to get to any other continent, really.” Breloom, added, equally impressed by Ampharos’s story. “Is there any continent you haven’t been to?”

“Well, that’s a bit of a tough question. I consider it arrogant on our part to assume that we’ve discovered all there is to this world right now.” Ampharos mused, stroking his chin contemplatively. 

_ That makes total sense.  _ Mawile remarked, gazing at Ampharos in surprise.  _ I mean, we don’t even have a proper map of the world yet. Ampharos is totally right to have such a broad way of thinking. I’m surprised at just how conscientious he is. _

“But if we’re talking about continents that are recorded, I’ve still yet to go to the Mist Continent.” Ampharos replied, smiling wistfully. “I’ve always wanted to go to Noe Town and check out the Dungeon Researcher’s Academy.”

“Wait, really?” Machoke interrupted. “Mawile has actually been there before!”

“Really?” Ampharos looked at her expectantly. “So you’re a dungeon researcher?”

“Oh, I’ve only studied there for a bit.” Mawile answered quickly. “I currently prefer doing fieldwork, but I do know a fair bit about mystery dungeons.” 

“That’s really neat.” Ampaharos replied, still smiling intently. “Most of what I learned has just been from personal experience and what I’ve heard from other adventurers.”

“But what brought you to Shaymin Village and the mountain?” Mawile continued. “Shaymin said that you’ve been staying on the mountain for a while.” 

“Oh I just came across the village when I was hiking a couple of months ago.” Ampharos answered casually. “The Shaymin were super surprised when they saw me, but they were all super nice.” Ampharos looked over to a group of the Shaymin who were nodding in agreement. “They gave me food and supplies. Of course, my main goal was to scale the mountain and reach the peak.”

The guide Shaymin stepped forward. “This was before we established the trail, so Ampharos went up the mountain alone.” They admitted sheepishly. 

“-And I didn’t make it pass the 8th clearing.” Ampharos confessed, though he seemed unbothered by it. “I started smelling this foul smell. Combined with a lack of supplies and declining weather, I had no choice but to turn back.”

“That foul smell, of course, turned out to be the Muk Clan.” Shaymin clarified. “That’s when we decided to establish the trail to help out pokemon trying to scale the mountain and Ampharos offered to run the 8th Station Pass.”

“But why did you do that?” Mawile glanced back Ampharos. “You said you're a nomad. Why stay in one place for this?”

“Because I owed the Shaymin a favor.” Ampharos answered as if it was obvious. “The Shaymin were nice to me, so it would be super rude for me to just without thanking them. Running the station was the least I could do. And I was also able to help other explorers climbing the mountain, which definitely made it worth it to me.” He was practically glowing as he smiled.

Mawile was once again struck by Ampharos’s sheer compassion. Almost every explorer Mawile knew, including herself, took pride in helping others but she never met anyone as sincere about this as Ampharos.

_ He’s a rare breed.  _ Mawile ruminated.  _ The way pokemon describe Wigglytuff’s enthusiasm for exploring...Ampharos acts that way. It’s one thing to hear about a pokemon like that but it’s completely different to actually talk to someone who’s so positive and remarkable. He’s a bit rough around the edges but...Ampharos could be the next legendary explorer on the same level as Wigglytuff, Lucario, Scizor, Team Charm, and Team ACT.  _

Mawile only realized she was still staring when Sneasel suddenly shuffled past her, purposefully averting his gaze from everybody else. 

“Um, Shaymin?” He asked, scratching the back of his neck apprehensively. “I just wanted to...thank everybody for helping me. Sorry for causing so much trouble.”

Shaymin smiled up at him knowingly. “You’re welcome, Sneasel. I’m just happy that you turned out OK, but you should really be thanking Ampharos for treating your wounds and bringing you back safely.”

Sneasel’s gaze traveled over to Ampharos. Mawile realized that if  _ that little weasel _ didn’t thank him, she might be tempted to slap Sneasel or worse.

Thankfully for Sneasel’s own health, the Sharp Claw Pokemon gave Ampharos a stern nod. “Thank you.” He said in a whimper. “I appreciate what you did.”

“You’re welcome!” Ampharos replied heartily. “Just glad to see you made it back safely.” 

Sneasel flushed a bit in embarrassment and cleared his throat. “Just...let me know if there’s anything I can do to repay you. I don’t have any money on me, but-” 

“You could give him a Sky Gift.” Shaymin offered, their eyes lit up with excitement. “If you want, I can show how to prepare one here, or you can try to find one in the mystery dungeon.”

Sneasel looked down at his injured shoulder with a pained expression, his eyes wavering in deliberation.

“We could help you make a Sky Gift if you want.” Mawile offered suddenly, taking herself by surprise.

Breloom and Machoke gave her looks of confusion in response to admittedly this out-of-character remark.

Mawile looked down at the grass for a moment before nodding decisively. “I can help if you want. I know your arm’s still bothering you, so I have no problem helping you.”

Sneasel seemed to cringe as he turned his head away again.

“What’s wrong?” Mawile asked.

“It’s just-” Sneasel sputtered. “I feel bad asking somebody to help me thank somebody else! I’d rather do this on my own. Ampharos deserves that.”

“Oh, it doesn’t have to be right away!” Ampharos interrupted. “Take time to heal first! I don’t anything fancy, but if this is something you want to do-”

Sneasel just nodded. “It is. OK.” He huffed. “I’m going to rest a bit but I promise I’ll repay you. Thanks again.” Sneasel began to head into one of the huts without another word.

“Guess that settles that.” Machoke huffed. “Glad to see some resolution out of all of this.” 

Ampharos flicked one of his ears, his face slightly flushed in embarrassment. “I hope he doesn’t hurt himself just trying to thank me. The verbal recognition is enough for me.”

“We should probably start packing up too.” Breloom said. “Don’t want to miss the party at Spinda’s Cafe after all.”

Mawile and Machoke nodded in agreement and began to follow Breloom back towards the hut where they left their stuff before Mawile has interrupted by the sound of Ampharos’s voice. 

“Hey!”

Mawile turned to the other pokemon. “Yes?”

“Let me know if your team ever wants to work together on a job.” Ampharos said quickly. “...I’m going to be sticking around the continent a bit longer so if you ever want to work together-”

Mawile was taken aback by this. If anybody should be begging to tag along with another explorer, it should be her to Ampharos. “Of course, I’ll let Machoke and Breloom know.”

“Great. Here’s my badge number. Just contact me if you ever want to team up.” Ampharos showed her the back of his explorer’s badge with his ID number which Mawile quickly recorded in her own badge.

“Sure thing. Our base is in Capim Town so just let us know if you’re ever in the area.” Mawile replied. “Where are you heading next?”

“Like I said, I’m going to stick around on this continent for a bit, but, I’m planning on going back to the Water Continent within a year or two.” Ampharos explained.

“Oh.” For some reason, Mawile was disappointed by this. “Guess even a nomad wants to go back home sometimes.”

“Eh, sorta.” Ampharos replied noncommittally. “See, the Water Continent actually doesn’t have a proper mystery dungeon exploration organization there. I’m hoping in a couple of years, they’ll have their own version of the Exploration Team Federation so I can start up a proper career there.”

“Why don’t you start your own organization?”

Mawile was smart, but she never felt dumber when Ampharos looked at her in stunned silence. 

She instantly slapped a palm over her smaller mouth, her face red in embarrassment.

“You...think I could do that?” Ampharos asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I mean-” She stammered, checking to make sure Machoke and Breloom weren’t listening in on her conversation. “Why not? You’re incredibly well traveled. You have a lot of field experience. You’re super friendly and you just seem to get along with people very easily. If anyone’s up to that kind of task, I’d say it’s you.”

Ampharos’s chest rose as he took in a deep breath, beginning to laugh softly. “You’re probably just saying that.”

“Yeah, maybe-” Mawile conceded, but she couldn’t ignore the feeling of excitement bubbling in her stomach. “But it’s worth a shot.”

Ampharos stared at her, his eyes wide and his ears perked. 

“Just...think about it.” Mawile suggested nervously. “I’m just saying, I’ve met a lot of explorers and adventurers but there’s something different about you; I can tell. You clearly have a lot of talent so why not try to see how far that talent can go? There’s a lot you could do to help others.”

Ampharos rested his chin on the end of his arm contemplatively. 

They were interrupted by the sound of Machoke and Breloom calling for Mawile.

“I’ve got to go.” She said, throwing her treasure bag over her shoulder. “Sorry for embarrassing you.”

“No, don’t-” 

She looked back at Ampharos who was staring back at her.

“You have a lot of good advice.” He said. “Let’s meet up again sometime.”

For whatever reason, that phrase specifically felt like a victory to Mawile. “Yes, of course! Just let me know when you want to meet up, and we’ll do it.”

Ampharos gave her a glowing smile again and nodded. “That sounds great! Good luck exploring, friend!”

“I wish the same to you!”

**Author's Note:**

> i originally planned on writing machoke as a meat-headed jerk who eventually drives mawile away from the team to form the expedition society with ampharos, but i think its better if team frontier just settled things cordially when mawile decided to head on to better things. there all still good friends to this day :).


End file.
